Ninth Annual Herbie Awards

With the season's kickoff just days away, it's time to step back and celebrate the players, coaches, color and pageantry of college football. Who are the players to know? Where are the places to be? The ninth annual Herbie Awards presentation answers those questions and more.

This list tackles the top playmakers, the defensive difference-makers, the fresh faces on the scene, the student sections that roar and everything else that's great about college football. Herbies are given to the best college football players, coaches, teams and fans across the nation.

Also, this is just my list. These are my choices, and not everyone will agree. That's the beauty of it. Let the second-guessing begin.

Kirk Herbstreit has been an ESPN college football studio analyst since August 1996. Herbstreit, who joined ESPN in September 1995 as a college football sideline analyst for ESPN2, is also a game analyst for ESPN's Thursday night college football telecasts.